Rosalind Poll Brooker remembered as tough, smart, fair

Tuesday

Oct 18, 2016 at 7:18 PMOct 18, 2016 at 7:18 PM

Steve Urbon @SteveUrbonSCT

NEW BEDFORD — Judge Rosalind Poll Brooker, who died Oct. 16 at her retirement home in Naples, Florida at age 87, is being remembered as a smart, kind, fair and tenacious public servant on the City Council, the city solicitor’s office, and the post of administrative law judge. She was the first woman elected to the council.

Retired Assessor Peter Barney said, “Roz was one of the nicest, most able people ever to serve on the City Council. She was honorable in everything she did. She made great strides and was fair and above board in every way.”

Former City Councilor George Rogers recalled that he urged Brooker to run for City Council. He remembered, as did everyone contacted for this article, her famous clashes with William Salzman, a colorful member of the council at the time.

Brooker is seen as a trailblazer for women as attorneys and as city councilors in New Bedford.

“She was absolutely wonderful, ahead of her time,” said former Mayor Rosemary Tierney. But, “I think she got some council members annoyed.”

Former Mayor John Bullard appointed Brooker to the post of city solicitor, another first.

“As a city councilor she had a strong personality. She was a great lawyer and a dynamic person. I was happy to appoint her as the first woman city solicitor.”

Brooker left for Florida 28 years ago, afflicted with a return of the childhood polio that she suffered.

“I missed seeing her in New Bedford. She was a wonderful, wonderful woman and I was proud to have her in my administration,” Bullard said. “She was a great lawyer and a great character,” he said.

Former City Solicitor Irene Schall recalls the influence Broooker had over city politics and in the legal profession.

“For my generation Roz was a generation ahead, a trailblazer for women,” said Schall. She recalled how Brooker struggled with the return of polio, which left her walking with crutches. “My God, she was a tough woman,” she said.

Schall was the beneficiary of Brooker’s rise in politics and civil service. “She appointed me as tax title attorney,” said Schall. "I owe my existence in city government to her.”

Schall remembered that there were so few female attorneys in the area, about a dozen, that they could all meet for lunch. Brooker was a leader among them.

“She was always generous to other women,” she said. "She was very, very interested in advancing women attorneys. She was smart, tough and a lovely person,” she said.